Help with 3 1/2 month Phillipines diving itinerary

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Seta

Registered
Messages
35
Reaction score
5
Location
Castellon, Spain
# of dives
100 - 199
Hello,
My girlfriend and I will spend 3 1/2 months in Philippines between late November to mid March. Entry and exit point is Cebu.
We plan to star going to Malapascua and maybe Moalboal before going to Pundaquit ( A bit north from Manila)to spend Xmas with a friend ( We may go to Subic bay a couple of days from here). After that we are thinking of going to Padre Burgos/Pintuyan, Bohol, Siquijor, Dumaguette/ Apo island. We were also thinking of Siargao ( but I red coral there is almost dead) Camiguin ( How is diving there?) Sipalay in Negros ( supposed to be very good)

We think about skipping Palawan for travel convenience (and maybe too touristic?) We did dive in puerto galera 9 years ago and was very nice.

Any itinerary suggestions talking into account that we rather spend 1 to 3 weeks at each place rather than keep moving all the time?

On this trip we will also dive in Bali, Sulawesi and Pulau Weh...So we will have lots of different diving oportunities

Regards
Javier
 
For EU passport holder you will be given 30 days visa free entry. If you want to stay longer then I would advice you to get the appropriate visa before arriving in the country. It will save you a lot of valuable time dealing with official red tape.
Palawan is certainly NOT touristy but well worth the effort if you have the time. Unfortunately it is slightly off the beaten track.
My suggestion after leaving Pundaquit:
Domestic flight is available from Clark(Angeles) to some places in the country. However most domestic flights depart from Manila.
To save any back tracking:
Fly into Bacolod, bus to Sipalay.
Bus to Dumaguete(Apo Island and Siquijor)
Ferry to Bohol.
You can either get the ferry from Ubay in Bohol or Cebu City to Maasin(for Padres Bugos).
Ferry to Cebu for your departing leg.
As for Camiguin, Siargao and Surigao, you probably won't have enough time for them. And diving there aren't that good anyway. But the top side of Camiguin is indeed very good, an island of 7 volcanoes.
 
Hello,
My girlfriend and I will spend 3 1/2 months in Philippines between late November to mid March. Entry and exit point is Cebu.
We plan to star going to Malapascua and maybe Moalboal before going to Pundaquit ( A bit north from Manila)to spend Xmas with a friend ( We may go to Subic bay a couple of days from here). After that we are thinking of going to Padre Burgos/Pintuyan, Bohol, Siquijor, Dumaguette/ Apo island. We were also thinking of Siargao ( but I red coral there is almost dead) Camiguin ( How is diving there?) Sipalay in Negros ( supposed to be very good)

We think about skipping Palawan for travel convenience (and maybe too touristic?) We did dive in puerto galera 9 years ago and was very nice.

Any itinerary suggestions talking into account that we rather spend 1 to 3 weeks at each place rather than keep moving all the time?

On this trip we will also dive in Bali, Sulawesi and Pulau Weh...So we will have lots of different diving oportunities

Regards
Javier

Hello guys,

I think your schedule is very doable. Malapascua is a nice spot and the threshers are amazing! Evolution run a great operation there.
For Moalboal I always dive at Savedra Dive Center as they are a short walk from the Sardine dive which is a must along with Pascador Island. If you wish to travel from Cebu Island and head to Pundaquit then I would suggest catching a flight from Cebu to Clark. This will save the Manila traffic and Clark is only 1hr from Subic Bay.

When in Subic look us up at www.arizonadivesubic.com or arizonadiveshop@gmail.com and we shall take good care of you. Subic Bay is home to 25 wrecks spanning over 100 years, and better still new wrecks are still being found. We are also seeing a healthy influx of bigger marine life in the bay since out local authorities stopped dynamite and cyanide fishing over a year ago. We have had recent sightings at our regular dive sites of Manta Rays, Reef Sharks, Turtles and Eagle Rays.

The diving at Dumaguete and Apo is amazing and honestly my favourite reef destination in the country. The Hayahay Restaurant is Dumaguete serves some pretty good food also!!

Unfortunately I cannot assist with the other destinations you have listed but there are some nice places around Subic/Pundaquit also. The Capones Islands, Mt Pinatubo hiking trip and waterfalls around Pundaquit are grower also!

Have Fun and hope to see you guys soon!
 
Hello,
My girlfriend and I will spend 3 1/2 months in Philippines between late November to mid March. Entry and exit point is Cebu.
We plan to star going to Malapascua and maybe Moalboal before going to Pundaquit ( A bit north from Manila)to spend Xmas with a friend ( We may go to Subic bay a couple of days from here). After that we are thinking of going to Padre Burgos/Pintuyan, Bohol, Siquijor, Dumaguette/ Apo island. We were also thinking of Siargao ( but I red coral there is almost dead) Camiguin ( How is diving there?) Sipalay in Negros ( supposed to be very good)

Regards
Javier

Hi Seta

if you would like to dive in Moalboal drop me a line, happy to help.

Second on Arizona, excellent dive center, Kent runs a good show, and the wrecks are amazing.

For Camiguin I would suggest Camiguin Souldivers, Jack is a friendly guy, he will take good care of you.

Sipalay is a beautiful spot, definitely worth your time. Great reefs, a couple of wrecks, and an incredibly chilled out scenic place, there I would contact Easy Diving.
 
Wow , all that diving , none of us on this board are in any way jealous.. lucky people !

I am glad to see that you have Southern Leyte on your list as this is a wonderful location with a high possibility of seeing whalesharks. Two or more weeks there would be fantastic. We dived with Southern Leyte Divers twice who were fantastic. All of the areas you picked are wonderful. However friends of ours have went to Donsol and really enjoyed it. Ticao Islad was the place I think. Another area I really loved was Anilao , unmissable if you take UW photos and like macro.

Do let us know how it goes and enjoy ever minute of this wonderful trip .
 
Thank you for all the suggestions, I will have to study it well ;-) Regarding the Visa we plan to extend it to 59 days in Cebu before fly to Clark. Maximum visa we can get from Spain is a 59 day visa, so we would have to make an extention anyway. I thought it was a pretty straight forward process. We will leave Palawan area for another trip, we never dived in Donsol but we did snorkell with the whalesharks there back in 2009. Only time we have seen them.

I think we will start with 3 weeks for Cebu, Malapascua and Moalboal, 2 weeks for pundaquit with a visit to Subic bay (Arizonadivesubic then ;-) We already bought return tickets Cebu-Clark ...so after that I see we have three options (maybe more..) and 2 months before flying out of the country, once again from Cebu

a) Fly from Cebu to Surigao, from there ferry to Pintuyan, Padre Burgos, Bohol, Dauin, Apo, Siquijor, Cebu
b) Fly from Cebu to Camiguin, from there to Bohol, Dauin, Apo, Siquijor, Cebu
c) From Cebu go to Bohol, Dauin, Apo, Siquijor and Sipalay (or the other way round)

I like option A because of the diving in South Leyte (having the oportunity to see whalesharks centainly appeals..), option B diving may be not so good but Camiguin looks like a nice and authentic island to explore( the kind of place we enjoy). I am less sure about option C, although Sipalay seems to be a great place and this option would involve less travelling.

Which option would you choose and why?

Regards
Javier
 
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Surigao is NOT worth the bother unless you are Tec Cave Divers while Siargao is well known for surfing.
To link up Camiguin and Southern Leyte will require considerably travelling time. Traffic is unusually light on Camiguin so pedal power is a good option to explore the coastal area. Hiking route is abandon but a proper guide would be advantageous. "Johnny" is another option for scuba diving.
If you are only interested in diving then C is the best but you have to remember that getting from Sipalay to Cebu will take around 9-10hrs.

My suggestions:
D. Camiguin + Surigao + Southern Leyte + Dauin
Fly to Camiguin from Cebu, ferry to Cayagan de Oro, bus to Surigao(long trip), Pintuyan, Padres Bugos etc etc
 
I would do E this is the same as C in reverse, but add in Southern Leyte last and if you can fly from Cebu to Sipalay.
 
Would you consider to forfeit your CRK/CEB ticket?
PR offers:
1. Clark to Caticlan(Boracay), flight is daily. The Long Beach in Boracay is world famous. Bus to Iloilo(5hrs), ferry to Bacolod(1hr) and then another bus to Sipalay(6hrs). Break the journey at Bacolod(Go hotel is cheap and cheerful).
2. Clark to Cagayan de Oro for Camiguin(Tu, Th and Sa; effective from 15th Dec)
3. Clark to Bacolod for Sipalay(Mo, We, Fr and Su; effective from 15th Dec). As my original suggestion #2.
 
After studiying all options I am finding the most dificult bit is going to be the second 2 month extension plus ACR-I card.
I thought it would be as easy as the first extention to 59 days (two day process?) but it seems it will not be that easy (up to few weeks?), not all immigration offices do issue ACR-I cards. Cebu and Cagayan de oro do, Surigao and Dumaguette do not.
http://www.immigration.gov.ph/images/DirectoryOfTransactions/DOF_2016Jan14.pdf

We do not mind the 7000Php, but we do not want to get stuck in some city waiting for the ACR-I card

Our 59 day visa will expire by 21st of January, we fly to Cebu from Clark on the 5th of January. So one thing we coul do is fly to Camiguin or Surigao(Pintuyan) from Cebu, go to Cagayan de oro for the extension and ACR-I card, go to Camiguin and wait for it to process then go back to Cagayan de oro to pick it up, fly to Dumaguete from there and do Dauin,Apo and Siquijor.

That way it would look like this (dates are flexible, just to get an idea):

- 26-27th Nov Cebu (arrive from Bali)
- 27th Nov to 20th Dec Malapacua/Moalboal (and/or Batanyan)
- 20-22nd Dec Cebu (Visa extension to 59 days)
- 22 Dec 5th Jan Pundaquit (Subic bay) Already have Cebu-Clark-Cebu ticket
- 5-6th Jan Cebu
- 6-16th Jan Camiguin (or fly to Surigao and do Pintuyan)
- 16-18th Jan Caganyan de oro (Visa extension/ACR-I card)
- 18-28th Jan Camiguin
- 28-29 Jan Caganyan de oro (Pick up ACR-I card and fly to Dumaguette)
- 29th Jan 8th March Dauin/Apo island and Siquijor (and Moalboal if we do Batanyan at the begining, Siquijor seems like a nice place to chill out before leving the country)
- 9th march fly to Kuala Lumpur from Cebu (already have the ticket)

We do not know how to properly fit Padre Burgos and/or Sipalay in here, because of the ACR-I card issue (how long can it take since we apply for it until we can pick it up?) We could fly to Surigao from Cebu, go to Pintunyan and back to Surigao and Cagayan de oro although it seems like a tyring option. Main reason to want to go to South Leyte is whaleshark season, what is the chance to meet them? We could skip Siquijor and go to Sipalay but that is something we can wait to decide.

Any advice on how/or where to do the second visa extension very welcome, we are a bit lost on that regard..

Our whole trip is going to take 8 months, we will be in Bali area for 2 months before Phillipines and then we will do Sulawesi, Raja Ampat and Pulau Weh after that....so we will have lots of different diving oportunities. Not all the trip will be about diving, with 200 dives we will be more than happy.

Regards
Javier
 
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